Most of the food was very delicious!Waiter was very charming, but forgot the cheese plate, we ended up having it for dessert. He was very apologetic and offered to take it off bill ( and did)I put on open table that this was a birthday (special occasion) but no mention of it at dinner. I also updated our reservation because one person canceled, restaurant did not get the message.I know my review sounds a little negative, but I have eaten here many times and I think the food is always very tasty and the staff is very accommodating .

Al Dente has good authentic Italian inspired food. Well prepared and presented. Upscale ambience, somewhere between casual and formal. Courteous and well informed staff. We went last night for an early Valentine’s Day dinner. We ordered excellent appetizer with dates, prosciutto and goat cheese, pasta bolognese and gnocchi. The service was great, the food was excellent and the dining experience was well Taylored to our needs. We have fined here several times and have had similar experiences.

The food was great! We go out to dinner frequently throughout DC and our expectations were surpassed that evening at Al Dente . The pasta was fresh as was all the food. Even the gluten free pasta was fabulous. I highly recommend this restaurant as a fun and casual outing with very good food!

We were seated neear the back wall a few feet away from the bar. There were some students at the bar who were so noisy that our could table could not hear each other speak and had to keep repeating things. I ordered the halibut and found there was only a small bit of actual fish in the dish - most of it was cipolli ans mushrooms, and fish that was there did not taste very good. The romaine salad was good, but otherwise the meal was disappointing.

Always a hit , never a miss at Al Dente. Starting from the fresh an succulent beet salad to the extra dry vodka martinis that were prepared to perfection, the evening was on divine dining experience. Her entrée was the veal shoulder and mine was the roasted Cornish hen with Italian sausage and rapini...both tasty and well presented. My meal was complimented by a very tasty Italian Montepulciano red wine. I am looking forward to my next visit and sample some of Chef Donna's exquisite home-made pasta.

Altho a New Year's Day Brunch menu appeared when I checked the restaurant's website, I was disappointed that brunch was not available at 1 pm on New Year's Day. When I looked more closely (after eating), I saw that the New Year's Day Brunch pdf that remains online was for 2016 or 2017. The restaurant was almost empty when we arrived. My guests and I shared a tasty eggplant dish (very little eggplant, lots of cheese). I had a meatball sandwich - a bit sloppy, but also tasty and cheesy. My friend had a large salad with 3 or 4 shrimp and her son a hamburger. I had an alcoholic drink that was nothing special, and the three of us shared a delicious dessert - a chocolate bomba - chocolate-covered ice cream and cake, with some raspberry sauce. Bottom line, not the brunch I was expecting, and close to twice as expensive, but we did have good-tasting food and decent service. Al Dente remains a pleasant place with good food.